Golkar Party will dismiss Setya Novanto from his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives and General Chairman of the party.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Golkar Party will dismiss Setya Novanto, a suspect in the e-ID graft case, from his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives and General Chairman of the party. A number of candidates have been nominated by Golkar to replace Novanto.
The official dismissal of Novanto from his positions will be decided at a plenary meeting of the Central Executive Board of Golkar, which will be held on Tuesday. The dismissal is considered urgent as Novanto has been named a suspect and detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Today, the House of Representatives Honorary Council will also hold a consultation meeting seeking consensus regarding Novanto’s case with all chairmen of the factions in the House.
Executive Chairman of Golkar Nurdin Halid said on Monday in Jakarta that Golkar will agree on a mechanism before examining candidates to fill the position of general chairman of the party. The party, he said, will appoint an acting general chairman, then discuss and decide on the new House speaker. "Tomorrow [Tuesday] we will decide to recall Pak Novanto from his position as the House speaker. This week a successor will be appointed," Nurdin said.
Secretary-general of Golkar Idrus marham said three days before Novanto was detained, he had met privately with Novanto. In the meeting, Novanto relinquished his positions as the general chairman and House speaker. "He said he did not want to hinder Golkar. He was sincere in his intensions,” said Idrus.
Successor
A number of House members from Golkar Party’s Faction who are willing to fill the seat as House speaker have been identified. According to information compiled by Kompas, those names include chairman of House Commission III Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of the Budget Committee of the House Azis Syamsuddin, chairman of the House Commission II Zainudin Amali, secretary of Golkar Party Faction Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita and Golkar lawmaker Kahar Muzakir.
Nurdin did not dismiss nor confirm the mentioned names. "There are many potential candidates. We will decide who will be the successor in line with the party’s mechanism," he said.
Deputy secretary-general of Golkar Party Ace Hasan Syadzily said at present there are many member of Golkar’s elite who are eyeing the seat of House speaker. The acting general chairman will later appoint a candidate, but all will depend on the decision at the plenary meeting.
Golkar Party\'s Experts Council recommended on Monday that the party\'s central executive board immediately hold an extraordinary national meeting by the end of December. The central executive board will then choose and decide on the new general chairman of the Golkar Party.
The Experts Council also supported Novanto\'s decision to appoint Idrus Marham as acting general chairman of Golkar. “I met Pak Idrus, to report that he had a mandate from Pak Novanto. We agreed," said chairman of the Experts Council Agung Laksono.
Meanwhile, the position of secretary-general could be vacated as Idrus had been named acting general chairman. Thus the Experts Council has proposed three names to become the acting secretary-general. They are deputy-secretary general of Golkar Party Sarmuji, secretary of Golkar Party Faction in the House Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita and Lamhot Sinaga.
Commenting on his appointment as acting general chairman, Idrus said "I have been very busy thus far, for what am I asked to be ready or not (to become the acting general chairman). Just wait, it will be announced in the plenary session."
Questioned
On Monday, Novanto’s wife Deisti Astriani Tagor was summoned to the KPK to be questioned as a witness in the e-ID case regarding suspect Anang Sugiana Sudihardja. Deisti, who arrived at the KPK at 9:50 a.m. and left the building at 5:45 p.m., declined to elaborate on why she was questioned. However, she is said to have met with her husband, who has been detained.
KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah explained the presence of Deisti was to obtain information regarding the ownership of a number of companies believed to be fictitious. Deisti was also asked to explain the status of ownership and any parties that had shares in the companies, which were allegedly involved in the e-ID graft case.